The present invention relates generally to exercising machines and more particularly to a portable leg exerciser utilizing adjustable elastic restoring elements to generate the resistance against which a user may exercise his or her and deployable in two orientations which enable the user sitting thereon to exercise quadricep muscles while further allowing a prone user to exercise hamstring muscles.
There is considerable interest in machines useful for exercising various muscle groups. However, such machines tend to be very heavy themselves or utilize weights for supplying the forces against which the legs exercise, or both. That is, leg exercisers are not designed to be portable. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,509,746, "Articulated Exercise Bench With Leg Curl Device," issued to Ernest D. Nask on April 9, 1985, the inventor teaches the use of an adjustable leg exercise device having a substantial fixed frame and a weight-receiving structure for attaching chosen weights to vary the resistance to the pivoting action of the leg-engaging members. Further, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,949, "Leg Curl Exercising Device," issued to Jerry D. Brentham on March 10, 1981 describes a leg exercising device having a fixed frame upon which an L-shaped seat for supporting the user is mounted, and a power cylinder for providing resistance to pivotal movement of a leg gripping member. Neither device utilizes adjustable elastic restoring elements to provide the requisite forces for exercising the legs, nor provides for a folding, light weight support structure for portability.
By contrast, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,043 591 "Combined Seating and Reclining Device and Exerciser," issued to J.W. Sellner on July 10, 1962, the inventor describes a foldable device for exercising the human body in various positions which may further be used for seating and reclining purposes. There is no mention of the use of this apparatus for leg exercises employing a variable resistance leg-engaging member.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a portable apparatus for exercising leg muscles.
Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.